February 2011 - Page 3 of 4 - Veda House Veda House

wouldn't it be great if…

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Recently I’ve think I’ve transformed into bit of a dreamer. I find myself standing in the shower saying things to myself like, “wouldn’t it be great if…” or “someday I hope to do …” As a kid and growing up over the past years, I wouldn’t of considered myself a dreamer. I’m more of the plan everything to the T and stick with the plan kind of gal. I’m liking this new side of me, so I’ll roll with it until it decides to evolve into something more, or less.

With that long drawn out explaination, I introduce you to a new themed post on my blog I’d like to call “Wouldn’t It Be Great If/To…” I like the idea of dreaming up great things and then working to make those dreams a reality, so here I go.

Wouldn’t It Be Great…to have this kind of Valentines Day

I’m not usually one to get all giddy over Valentines Day, but this year I’m feeling it. Since this love day happens to fall on a Monday, I envision this Valentines Day being filled with little surprises throughout the day instead of our regular day full of adventures. We’ll both be at work doing our own thing, so I look forward to seeing how all the little surprises end up happening. ( I’ve got some nice little goodies planned! )

*Images were pulled from Pinterest without proper sourcing attached. If you know the true source for the image, let me know please!

What would you like your Valentines Day to look like?

friday finds & favorites

FRIDAY FINDS & FAVORITES

Picture of Tieka of Selective Potential was taken from her Harbor Front Place post. Picture of Elizabeth from Delightfully Tacky was taken from her Nature is a Haunted House post.

I’m all giddy this week due to the INDIE e-conference that was set up by Tieka of Selective Potential and Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky. This is my first official blogger related event that I’ve been a part of and I’m so grateful that these two gals decided to spread some blogger knowledge with the newbies, like me. This year, the girls were unable to attend the IFB Conference (AKA Independent Fashion Bloggers) in New York (In conjunction with Fashion Week) so they thought it would be a good idea to share what they’ve learned from the previous years of attending as well as years of blogging experience. I’ve also been listening in on all the panel discussions at the IFB Conference via live feed and following the chit chat on Twitter,(#ifbcon). The combination of the two has been like bread and peanut butter.

As someone who has only had a blog for little over a month and a half, I feel like I am learning so much right from the get go. I’m learning the do’s and don’t even before I have the chance to make the mistakes. I know some things I’ll just learn along the way, but it sure is nice to cut through some of the BS right from the beginning.

My favorite take away from today came from Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky. Thanks Elizabeth for the seemingly obvious, not so obvious advice.

I hope to do a little recap at the end of the week session, but I was so excited I needed to share a little bit with you. If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late and you can always jump back and forth through the content you may have missed. It’s perfect for people like me who have a non-blogging job during the day. If you are attending, I’d love to chit chat with you about the experience and what you are learning.

I leave you with some links for your weekend.

Are you inspired yet?

1. This cute bunny tutorial that reminds me of Skunkboy Creatures
2. This amazing love story, First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage.
3. This video that I’ve had on replay since last Sunday. Bon Iver For Emma a capella.

4. Sewing machine applique project. I’ve bought all the supplies to do this, now I just need the motivation to start.
5. The perfect birthday party idea. Cereal buffet!
6. Download some great vintage inspired valentines. Brought to you by Veer!
7. For all the hopeful romantics like myself. An engagement story with Melissa from Without Melissa blog.

This weekend is our golden retriever puppy’s first birthday, so I hope to finally announce Porter James to the blog world with some great b-day pics and adventures. Check back…he’s a cutie!

st. louis food blogger recognized!

features

Iron Stef (a.k.a Stephanie Tolle) was recognized as the “best food blog of 2011” by the St. Louis’s alternative newsweekly called The Riverfront Times. (St. Louis is on the Mississippi River) Stef’s blog is is pumped full of humor and achievable recipes for any skill level cooker. Stef declared 2010 The Year of the Tator Tot, so look out for some unique and unexpected recipes, like the tater tot pizza recipe below.

Click above image to enlarge to full size.

Stephanie is a frequent attendee at food blogger meet-up and has even had the opportunity to meet Nigella Lawson! Stephanie loves that here blog is beyond a personal online “journal” and that it is her ticket into a really great community of people who share the same interests. Food Blog Mafia was created as a place for Stef and fellow food bloggers to bounce ideas off each other, cook together, and even write a book together.

Stef’s blog is strictly a creative outlet and she doesn’t see turning her hobby into a paying job. Stef says that as soon as you are doing it as your job, all the fun is taken away. I love finding a blog that you want to go back to daily. Even though I’m a picky eater and don’t eat a lot of the food Stef blogs, I love going to her site for that little bit of humor. I hope you enjoy the blog as much as I do. Feel free to leave Stef a little note in the comments section.

a sneak peek inside my beauty bag

veda news

I’m a pretty simple gal when it comes to makeup and my daily beauty routine. SIMPLE. I also have some what sensitive skin, so I have to stay away from all the fancy pants make up and skin care items. Raised Scar Tape is the most preferable for skin issues like pain, itching, and scar issues. I’m also a big fan of SPF, so a lot of the products I use have some sort of sunblock in them. (Yes, I wear SPF 45 in the summer) As most of you ladies know, you can spend a ton of money on make up and skin care products, but I try to stay in the low – mid cost range. I can’t stand paying more than $25 on something that vanishes over time. But with the age, makeup can’t hide the fine lines and wrinkle on your face. Many Make up product company claims to reduce the fine lines and wrinkle come with age but as according to the survey, they didn’t. Hence a proper wrinkle and thread lift treatment is required to reduce the fine lines and wrinkle coming with the age. Check out once to simple make up mim tips for everyday.

There are many skin enhancement treatments available easily within the market lately . thanks to the increasing level of pollution and stressful working schedules our skin develops signs of ageing, the foremost common being wrinkles. There are many expert plastic surgeons melbourne are available who can guide their patients for better skin health.

Due to the ageing process of the body, our skin produces lower levels of mucopolysaccharide . This acid is liable for keeping our skin rejuvenated, plump and youthful. With diminished levels of this acid, our skin starts sagging, wrinkles appear and our skin looks dull. However, to require care of all of your wrinkles problems, Skin Club provides an efficient cosmetic treatment: Anti-Wrinkle Injection treatment or also referred to as ‘Botox’ treatment.

1. Lorac Eye Shadow ( Moonstone ) $19.00
2. MAC Cosmetics Eye Shadow ( White Avalanche ) $15.00
3. Clinique Lash Power Mascara ( Long Lasting in Black ) $15.00
4. Sephora Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 Oil-Free ( Light 15 Nude ) $21.00
5. Clinique Face Soap ( Mild for Sensitive Skin ) $12.00
6. Olay Complete Facial SPF 15 Moisturizer $10.00
7. C.O Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint ( Pink Mint ) $8.00
8. St. Ives Apricot Scrub $6.00
9. Cetaphil Daily Advance Ultra Hydrating Body Lotion $10.00

I currently keep all my goodies in a Maruca bag that I got for Christmas. Maruca bags are 100% handmade bags from Colorado and all bags use fabrics that are made at the Maruca studio. You can buy the bags online or in little boutiques around the US. Small bags, like my make-up bag start at about $37.00 and the prices go up from there. They currently just launched their Spring/Summer collection.

What does your beauty bag look like? Want to know something about me you haven’t seen on the blog? Ask away by clicking the below image.

blogger resources

veda news

There are some really great things going on in the blogging community, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found. If you’re a blogger or an indie business owner I’ve gathered up the resources for you to look through. I hope to take part in most of the e-courses and would love to get to a blogger meet-up if there is one close by. Also, if you know of any other goodies out there that I’ve missed, please leave me a note and I can add it to the list. (* all images below were created by the lovely ladies who put the e-courses together)

FOR INDEPENDENT BLOGGERS:

This e-conference is brought to you by the lovely Elizabeth over at Delightfully Tacky and Tieka of Selective Potential. It’s focus is on fashion, but will benefit any style of blogger. E-conference will be full of insights from successful bloggers, personal stories (we all love personal stories), tricks and tips, and fun video blogs and tutorials. Each day there will be 6-7 posts with great amazing content. (taking your own outfit shits, editing your photos, etc!) Click on the image below to sign up. Just by signing up you could win a dress from Shop Ruche or an iFlip video camera!. This course will be the first one I sign up for.

FOR BLOG LOVERS:
This e-course is for anyone interested in blogging. Elsie of A Beautiful Mess spent some time compiling tips, stories and ideas for young bloggers. Elsie says “This course was written with new bloggers in mind, but it goes way beyond simply getting started”. Click the image to be redirected to Elsie’s e-course catalogue.

FOR THE BLOG BUSINESS:

This is an 6 week interactive online course that was created/taught by Leigh-Ann Keffer of Freckled Nest, Jill Munro of Lune Vintage and Lisa Leonard of Lisa Leonard Designs.( read their bios here! ) There are included sessions, 7 creative business related diy projects and 3 interactive live Q&A sessions to give you all the tools you need to establish yourself and achieve success with your Small Business! Click on the image to learn more about the courses.

LETS GET TOGETHER: (Saturday, March 26th, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ)

If you are going to be in Phoenix, Arizona in March this blogger meet up is a MUST. It’s currently being organized by Danielle of Sometimes Sweet, Kelsey of Roofresh and Chelsea of Tea Talk. The weekend event will most likely involve a dinner out on the town and a blog-centered daytime activity. The girls are trying to get a head count so click on the image to let Danielle know you’ll be going. I wish I could attend, but this one might be a little to far away.

FOR THE CRAFTY SORTS:

This e-course was created by Rachel Denbow of Smile and Wave and is a must for anyone wanting to learn a little bit more about fabric projects. The course includes nine patchwork projects withstep-by-step tutorials that build on each other so that even beginning sewers can feel confident in their ability to stitch together a colorful lap quilt and then recover an ugly chair! Click on the above image to dive deeper into course details and projects included. So much fun!

Blogger Meet-Up in Grand Rapids Michigan (FEB 25th)

Blogger meet-up paired with the ‘Bodies of Art’ Art Show on Friday, February 25 in Grand Rapids (Michigan!) Bloggers will meet up beforehand, grab outfit shots, catch the show at 7 pm and head out afterwards for snacks and drinks! RSVP as soon as possible so tickets can be purchased before they sell out. Tickets are $15. Tieka of Selective Potential is accepting payments via Paypal and holding your ticket for you! Click above image for some more details!

Again, if you know of any I may have missed, please share! Enjoy!

friends of veda: adesignmafia.com

friends of veda

Our Story:
I’ve been waiting to do a feature on my dear friend and his amazing blog ( A Design Mafia ) for a while now. Even though we aren’t necessarily working on the same blog anymore, we still talk on a daily basis. Our friendship started in college where we literally had all but one design class together over the 4-year period. We laughed a lot, made fun of each other’s work a lot, made lots of paper cranes, and spent countless hours in the design studio. Such great time. Now we are hundreds of miles apart and connect through the blog land. Good times.

Design is the foundation upon which I build my house. Waking up to a Pantone DS 1-8 C sunrise, I eat typography for breakfast and well…you get the idea. – John @ A Design Mafia

Recently A Design Mafia went under a little site redesign and personally I think it looks lovely. Maybe I’m a little bias, but I think A Design Mafia has to be one of the best blogs for design type inspiration. I know for a fact John lives and breaths design and strives to only share the best content.

I had the chance to ask A Design Mafia a few questions that I thought you’d enjoy knowing the answers to. Let me know if there is something else you’d like to know and I’ll dig the answer out of him. (He’ll do whatever I want. haha. Just kidding)

When did you decide you wanted to start a blog and how has it evolved over the years. I hear adesignmafia.com is going on 3 years?

ADM: The fact that I’ve maintained the blog for three years is actually mind boggling to me, to be completely honest. I’ve tried blogging in the past, but never really had anything interesting to show, so they just faded away into the void that the internet. The blog name started off as a joke between a fellow designer friend (Dante delos Angeles) and myself about how to get people to pay for spec work and it just snowballed from there. It really hasn’t evolved too much (yet). It has always been a place where I can log different things that are interesting in the design sphere.

John & Dante in one of our many design classes.

The look has changed several times, most recently about a week or so ago. I’m trying to get people into the content that seems most relevant or interesting to them, quickly and at a glance. I’ve toyed with a lot of different ideas such as advertising or sponsorships, but I’m not there yet personally. It’s not that we don’t have the readership, but I just don’t want that yet.

Do you use your blog as part of a business or is it used for fun and personal blogging?

ADM: A Design Mafia is all about fun. I’m not going to be a pretentious design snob, I’m not going to sit there and plug my own work constantly (although I may throw a personal project in here or there), and for the most part I keep my personal stuff low key unless it’s a gallery show or a concert or something big. These things may change and evolve over time, but for me it’s all about inspiration. What kind of things do I see out there in the blogosphere that inspire me and push me to learn and create. That’s the content that I want to get out there.

John & I in our glory years at Purdue University.

Since blogging isn’t your actual business, how do you spend your days as a designer? Working on anything we should know about?

ADM: Right now blogging is totally a side thing that I do when I’ve got some time or if I see something that really is like “Wow!” to me. I work as an in-house designer in southern Georgia and take on a few side projects if they’re interesting. Right now I’m working on two side projects for some very close friends of mine. One is for my buddy Ben Hagood, who is recording an acoustic album titled “Losers Ballads and Other Laments.” Uplifting right? It’s an traditional Irish number that he’s doing while his punk band, The Enders, are on hiatus (I did their identity as well). The other is for an future small business that I’m, unfortunately, not able to talk about at this time. Sorry.

I know you can be pretty crafty at time and you can even cook! What kind of personal projects are you currently doing or hope to do? Any favorite things to cook?

ADM: Personal projects include a skateboard art piece that has been years in the making, screenprinting, and polaroids. I’m sure those projects will pop up on the blog at some point. I’m also planning on doing some other wood/lino cuts too. Favorite things to cook? Oh man…that’s tough. That’s like asking me to choose a favorite child (luckily I have just one). I totally love Jamie Oliver’s style of cooking. The simplicity of some of his meals is astounding, but the flavors really stand out. If there is one person I steal recipes from on the daily, it’s him. The only problem is sometimes some of the ingredients are difficult to find in my neck of the woods, so I’m always looking for substitutions. Another problem is that I’m only cooking for one and well prepared meals are really more enjoyable with friends or family.

So the more people around, the more I’m inclined to go all out with the food. In any case, I found a recipe for Indian-style steak, spinach & paneer salad with naan breads and mango dessert. It looks ridiculously delicious. I’m also inclined to try my hand at making Pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup that is A-mazing when done properly. Damn. Now I’m hungry.

The current control center of A Design Mafia (what a mess John!)

As A Design Mafia goes into it’s 3rd year, do you have any fun things planned for this year that we should look out for?

ADM: Like I said…year 3? craaaaaazy. Look for more featured artists. Look for more personal content. A lot is going to happen in the design sphere in 2011…so just keep looking for some more really rad stories to pop up.

John doing his thing.

Lastly and most importantly, What’s in your playlist today?

ADM: Today? Oh man…you know I’m always all over the music map, but I’ll give you an 8 track sample of stuff I listened to today alone:
Side A: In the Morning
1. Creedence Clearwater Revival
2. Tom Petty
3. Steppenwolf
4. Johnny Cash
Side B: The Afternoon Shift
5. Notorious B.I.G.
6. Tupac
7. Luniz
8. Jay-Z

Final words?

ADM: Victoria aut Mors

Thanks John for sharing your story with my readers. Stop by A Design Mafia for your daily fix of great design. You can also follow John on Twitter @adesignmafia and don’t forget to stop by his online design portfolio!

Have a lovely Monday!

weekend wrap up & taco run

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I hope all you had a lovely weekend. My weekend was pretty good with just enough activity to keep me busy. Our weekend started with date night at the 123Movies theater. I was able to talk the boy into seeing Blue Valentine because it got a 8.0 /10.0 on IMDB.com (he’ll see anything that gets a 7.5 or higher rating) The movie was everything I hoped for and confirmed the fact that I’m in love with Ryan Gosling.

Blue Valentine Movie Trailer-> go see it if you have a chance.
Best song from the movie “You & Me” by Penny & The Quarters

Our Saturday started off really lazy. I don’t think we left the couch until after noon. I was able to catch up on my blog roll, get in a few chapters of my current book and blog a little for myself. I’ve been spending a lot of my free time researching digital SLR camera and I hope to make a purchase in the near future. If you didn’t get a chance to see what cameras I’m looking into, you can see it here.

Late Saturday afternoon, the boy and I made a taco run to a great restaurant in a part of town called Soulard. It was our first time eating at this restaurant, but they won over my heart by having fried tacos on the menu. I’ll definitely make these amazing tacos a weekly thing (and I’ll be 500 lbs).

Sunday was another lazy day. I was able to catch up on all domestic things and get some “real” work done for the agency. We started to “watch” the Super Bowl and then decided to watch Mad Men instead. I love Netflix streaming. Have a great night everyone!

camera summary

veda news

I’m so thankful for all my lovely readers who shared their camera set-ups with me. Buying an expensive camera can be an extremely intimidating purchase. Getting advice from people who own the devices is definitely a must and helps you tailor your search. After gathering all the information I could, I was surprised that more cameras with flip screens exists than I thought, any way I’ve narrowed it down to 4 digital SLR cameras that I think could work for me, all in different price ranges. I was pleased that the suggestions I was getting also matched Squidoo’s Top Selling and Top Rated lists.

Read the Reviews on www.imaging-resource.com
Canon Rebel T2i, Canon Rebel T1i, Canon xs, Nikon D3100

I’ll most likely find the camera body that works for me and buy the lens I need. I think I’ll be able to build a better set-up and save money this way. Once you package the camera into a kit, you lose some quality and the prices go up. Customizing just means a little more time and research. I’ll be looking into 2 kinds of lens, one for low light situations and one for everyday shooting. I’ve got my eye on a could 50mm lens for low-light but need to do some research on best “every day” type lens. Any suggestions?

My next step will be to find a great camera shop in the area and hopefully get my hands on my top pics. I’m a pretty petite gal and I don’t want carrying around my camera to feel like I’m lugging around a small child. I also want a camera that I can build on over the years. I’ve recently landed a freelance web design job that will allow me to buy some extra accessories such as an external flash, tripod and remote. If you have any suggestions for those items, shoot them my way.

Also, if you’re in the market for a new camera and don’t see the one you were looking at in my top 4 selection, let me know. I got a lot of good suggestions from a range of photographers, amateurs and pros. You can also check out the comment section of THIS post.

Have any of you bought a camera accessory that you thought you’d need, but you rarely use?

DIY: paper flower valentines day garland

DIY

I saw the cutest paper roses stuck to branches and I knew those roses would look better attached to some garland. So in the spirit of the approaching holiday, I bring you a super easy DIY project.

What you’ll need:
All you’ll need is colored construction paper/card stock paper, sissors, double sided tape, and thread/rope/twine of some sort.

Step-by-Step

1- Start by drawing a spiral on a square piece of paper. 4in X 4in seemed to work pretty good for me.
2- Cut out the spiral by cutting along the lines you’ve drawn.
3- Once you’ve cut along the lines you will have a lose spiral that you can start rolling.
4- Begin to roll, starting with the outside end and working your way towards the center. Rolling will naturally form a rose shape.
5- Secure the spiral with double sided tape so that it doesn’t unravel.
6- Wa-la. you now have a rose that you can attach to anything. I attached mine to a strand of fabric with thread. Easy peezy.

Once I made all the paper roses I attached them to a braided strand of fabric and hung the garland on my head board. The coral colored roses matched my coral colored pillow cases, so it was a perfect match.

I look forward to some more V-Day inspired projects. If you have any must-share ideas, please let me know. I’m always on the search for the next project. Don’t forget that you can ask me anything you’d like by clicking on the image below.
Have fun and enjoy your weekend!

friday finds & favorites + giveaway winner

FRIDAY FINDS & FAVORITES

Tunes
If you haven’t listened to Rilo Kiley, please do. You can listen to them here. The lead singer of Rilo Kiley is Jenny Lewis and I love everything about her. I love her look, her voice and her rabbit fur coat. Hope this playlist gets you through your Friday. This album has gotten me through a lot more than a Friday, so I know it’s a keeper.

Blog Love.
My Vibe, My Life– this is a brand new blog, so I thought I’d share the love. She’s a fearless designer that is loaded with tips. She contributed to book Decorate, by decor8.
Cute and Delicious– A Los Angeles blogger who blogs all about Vegan treats and crafty fun! She’s also engaged and planning for their wedding. So fun!
Eat.Sleep.Wear– A high-bun fashion blogger who always finds the best locations to show off her stunning outfits. I’m jealous!
Hula Seventy– A momma blogger, artist, freelance writer & photographer. She lives in Portland OR. Anyone envious?
~>O<~ A great source for inspiration if you’re interested in design, patterns, fabric and crafts, all brought to you by Lena Corwin of Lines & Shapes.

Are you inspired yet?
I’ve been incredibly busy this week and haven’t been able to surf the net as much as I’d like. I did happen to stumble upon some really great things that I hope will inspire you as much as they did me.
1. MUU– OMG! this baby stuff is fabulous. I really need a little kid so I can design their room and buy cool stuff. Love the cribs and they are actually reasonably priced! They’ve got a blog too!
2. Bholu Interiors– Some goodies for you brought to you by the Australian designer Jodie Fried. Her products have a childlike simplicity to them. Check out the pillows people!
3. Bloggers Bringing in the Big Bucks– Read this article about how personal bloggers have turned their obsession into a full-time money makin job.
4. Choosing a Digital Camera Lens– I’m in the market for a new Digital SLR, so I’ve been a busy bee researching everything out there. Here’s a good article on Lens.
5. Monster Factory– yup, that’s right, MONSTERS! These little stuffed critters are adorable. I love how some of them are so ambiguous and strange.
6. THIS VIDEO– a new little film (3 minutes) by Kinga Burza for Kate Spade. “I will never love you more…”

This week was the very first giveaway on the blog and I couldn’t be more excited to announce it’s winner. Brainstorm Print & Design has been a great partner in making this print available to one lucky reader. Ok, here it goes…

Miss Amy, we will be in contact and Briana over at Brainstorm will ship your print ASAP. I really hope you enjoy the print and that it’s a show stopper in your son’s room. It’s definitely a great learning piece.

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